OBJECTIVEDescribe the clinical and therapeutic characteristics of patients with heart failure (HF) secondary to chronic chagasic cardiomyopathy and evaluate if these characteristics are different from those found in other etiologies. METHODS RESULTSThree hundred and fi fty six patients diagnosed with HF were included in the study. Chagasic cardiomyopathy was the most common etiology (48% of the cases). Other etiologies included hypertensive cardiomyopathy in 19% of the patients, idiopathic dilated in 11% and ischemic in 9%. Patients with HF secondary to chagasic cardiomyopathy were more frequently from non-white ethnic groups (88 vs. 75%; p = 0.002), had a family history of Chagas disease (57 vs. 21%; p = 0.001), had the disease for a longer length of time (71 vs. 56 months; p = 0.034), had lower levels of education (4.4 ± 4.1 vs. 5.7 ± 4.2 years of study; p = 0.004), had a lower heart rate (69 ± 12 vs. 73 ± 13; p = 0.03) and a lower systolic blood pressure (121 ± 25 vs. 129 ± 28 mmHg; p = 0.006). There was also a higher incidence of the use of amiodarone (22 vs. 13%; p = 0.036) and artifi cial pacemakers (15 vs. 1%; p = 0.001). There was a lower usage of beta-blockers (39 vs. 59%; p = 0.001). CONCLUSIONIn this sample of HF outpatients, in a state with a high prevalence of Chagas disease, chagasic cardiomyopathy was the most common etiology and they presented some unique clinical and therapeutic characteristics in comparison to other heart failure patients. KEY WORDSChagasic cardiomyopathy, heart failure, epidemiology.

Patients admitted to an intensive care unit due to decompensated heart failure have high in-hospital lethality. In this study, variables recorded at admission, such as previous stroke, atrial fibrillation, hyponatremia, renal failure, and age > 70 years were predictors of in-hospital lethality.

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Intravenous treatment of methylprednisolone, as a single anti-inflammatory agent, was inferior to conventional treatment with oral prednisone in the control of severe rheumatic carditis.